The Texas Observer (also known as the Observer) is an American magazine with a liberal political outlook. The Observer is published bimonthly by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Texas Democracy Foundation. It is based in Austin, Texas. On March27, 2023, it announced that it was ceasing publication. However, on March 29, it was announced that publication will continue following a successful crowdfunding campaign by staff.

History

The Observer was founded by Frankie Randolph and Ronnie Dugger in Austin in 1954 to address topics often ignored by daily newspapers in the state, such as those affecting working people and concerning class and racism. According to Texas Public Radio (TPR), the early Observer "represented the liberal wing of the once-conservative Democratic Party" that was dominant in Texas. During this period, the Observer was critical of conservative or moderate Texas Democrats, including Lyndon B. Johnson during his Senate tenure and Governors Allan Shivers and John Connally. In the 1970s, Molly Ivins served as the Observer's co-editor and a political reporter. In 2010, the Observer published an exposé on then-Governor Rick Perry's "Enterprise Fund". The report found that 20 recipients of the 55 grants available through the fund were given to Perry campaign contributors or contributors to the Republican Governors Association (RGA) after he became chairman. In March 2023, the board of the Observer's parent organization, the nonprofit Texas Democracy Foundation, voted to close the publication and lay off its 17 employees, including 13 journalists. A crowdfunding campaign to save the publication raised over $300,000 in two days, spread mostly through word of mouth via Mastodon. The campaign was successful.

Notable staff and contributors

Notable Observer staff and contributors, past and present: